All posts by Wintery Knight

https://winteryknight.com/
Commentary

Neil Simpson’s report on his recent prison ministry event

3 Comments

Here is Neil’s post at 4Simpsons.

Introduction:

The Kairos prison ministry weekend went really well.  As always, it was exhausting and amazing.  This is probably my favorite ministry.  I’ve never seen anything that has such broad and dramatic impacts on so many lives.  I’ll share a little background, then a few observations.  If you want more background on the ministry there is additional information at the bottom.

Overview of the ministry: It is an opportunity to share the Gospel with those who aren’t believers (No one is pressured, though).  Many of the participants are already Christians, so it is a great opportunity to fellowship with and encourage them.  And it is just an all-around way to share God’s love with people who are often depressed and forgotten.  It is educational in laying out Christian principles for living and creating a Christian community wherever they are.  It helps teach them how to love and forgive others (and themselves). It has a dramatic impact on recidivism, which means less victims and lower costs for society.

Kairos doesn’t advocate for either the prisoners or for the criminal justice system. A transaction took place between the state and the prisoner. The prisoners did the crime and are now doing the time, so we don’t get in the middle of that. We just reach out with Christian love to all and with Christian fellowship to believers.  We try to show that they aren’t forgotten.

There is also a Kairos Outside program for the moms / wives / daughters of the prisoners.  It is completely free, including transportation to the event and childcare if necessary.

Then he has a list of exciting things that happened while he was ministering to the prisoners.

Here’s an excerpt from the list:

  • A prisoner at the closing ceremony told everyone to go home and tell and show your kids that you love them.  A few of the inmates came from solid homes, but most did not.
  • Another interesting moment at the closing ceremony: One guy asked how many people were raised going to church.  Lots of hands went up.  Then he asked how many were taught the Bible at home.  Most hands went down.  See Ephesians 6:4, Christians!  We need to teach this to our kids ourselves.  What they learn at church is just a bonus.
  • One guy noted how he thought love was just something in books and movies, and that he never experienced it until this weekend.
  • The birthday cakes and cards brought a lot of tears, especially by some who never had them growing up.

Everyone always wonders why I put so much emphasis on marriage and parenting in my posts. It’s because we really need to stop this idea that marriage is something we get into for fun. Relationships with the opposite sex are NOT primarily about fun, (for Christians). You are trying to create a stable environment in which to raise new disciples who will have an impact for Christ, and you are trying to pick a person who you can love self-sacrificially in close quarters without feeling used or burned out. When marriages don’t stay together, then the kids are raised without both parents (usually without a father) and things go badly for the children.

 

Videos

What’s the difference between conservatives and liberals?

1 Comment

Well, you’d say what Bill Whittle says about conservatives in these two videos. (H/T ECM)

1) Conservatives value limited government and free enterprise

If you like having a choice when you go shopping or if you like having a job, then you’re a conservative. If you like collecting welfare, and preventing people from choosing better schools for their children, then you’re a progressive/liberal/socialist/communist.

2) Conservatives value individual choices over government control

If you think that you know best how to run your own life, then you’re a conservative. If you think that the government should run your life for you, then you’re a progressive/liberal/socialist/communist.

What do conservatives look like?

Here’s my favorite conservative, Representative Michele Bachmann:

This is what conservatives look like and sound like. Are you one?

Commentary

Is it possible that foreign aid can actually do more harm than good?

3 Comments

A really good read by Stuart Schneiderman.

Excerpt:

…if you send boatloads of food to feed the world’s hungry, you are going to feel very good about yourself, but you are also going to destroy local agriculture.

No one can compete with “free.”

Gratifying your philanthropic urges can easily create a cycle of dependence, one that saps initiative, self-respect, and demeans individuals.

Keep in mind, no matter who begins these foundations, and no matter whose name is on the door, ultimately they will be run by people who are in the business of philanthropy, and that means, people who have made it their life’s work.

These people are not champions of the free market; they are not especially interested in building businesses. They are interested in assuaging guilt, their own or someone else’s, by giving away money.

These charities will be promoting liberal and progressive causes; they will become advocacy organizations. They will not be promoting capitalism.

It is a good thing to fund education. It makes you feel good to fund education. Except that the problem with education has very little to do with money.

Education is a system that has been run by liberals and progressives, with precious little interference from moderates and conservatives. More and more it has devoted itself to inculcating the values associated with political correctness and self-esteemism, rather than teaching children.

All the world’s money is not going to change that.

It’s one thing to give money to the poor and the indigent. Religions have always done as much. It’s quite another to create a special class of people who can promote their own ideology under cover of philanthropy.

When I give to charity, it is usually for specific speakers and conferences that my friends organize at universities and churches. I don’t believe in giving money to organizations like United Way and Amnesty International. I do not think it is a good idea to give money to left wing groups who view the poor as victims instead of as potential allies. I like foreign investments, free trade and micro loan programs, though.